June 12, 2013

A
multi-talented player in college, Griese was taken by the Dolphins in the first
round of the 1967 AFL/NFL draft. When starting QB John Stofa was lost to a
broken ankle, Griese took over and had a solid rookie season as he threw for
2005 yards and 15 TD passes for a second-year franchise. He earned selection to
the AFL All-Star game in 1967 and ’68, but suffered along with a struggling
team until Don Shula took over as head coach in 1970. The Dolphins went 10-4
and made it to the playoffs and the quarterback was selected for the Pro Bowl
in the newly-merged league. In 1971, the Dolphins won the AFC title and Griese
was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection. He didn’t have the strongest arm,
but it was accurate and he proved to be a good fit in Shula’s ball-control
offense. Griese suffered a broken leg five games into the 1972 season but
returned in the playoffs as the team went undefeated and won the Super Bowl.
They won again in ’73 and he was again selected to the Pro Bowl even though the
offense ran the ball more than it passed. Injuries factored into a couple of
lesser seasons in 1975 and ’76, with personnel factors also an issue, but
fitted with glasses, he came back strong in 1977.

Griese was
selected to a sixth Pro Bowl in ’78 while leading the league in completion
percentage (63.0) but injuries began to wear him down and ultimately ended his
career in 1980. He ended up passing for 25,092 yards with 192 TD passes and the
team went 92-56-3 with him behind center. The Dolphins retired Griese’s #12 and
he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1990. His son
Brian followed him into the NFL.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or
Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or
USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football
Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press
International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league
itself).